NEW health fears have been raised by scientists over Government plans to force manufacturers to add folic acid to bread to prevent babies being born with spinal defects.

Worrying research from Newcastle University has called into question the idea of “mass medication” of the population after finding synthetic folic acid is not processed by the body in same way as folates found in green vegetables.

Potential effects on health are not known, they say, and there may need to be a rethink about using a different form of folate.

Women planning to get pregnant are advised to take the supplement but many British pregnancies are unplanned

Women planning to get pregnant are advised to take the supplement but many British pregnancies are unplanned.

This has led to the recommendation that UK flour should be fortified with folic acid to slash the number of babies born with defects such as spina bifida and anencephaly, currently 900 every year.

Newcastle team leader Professor David Jones said: “This work doesn’t mean that folic acid is not safe. It suggests, however, that the assumption that it will be automatically safe because the body can handle it is not correct.”

The research is published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.